Suffolk County Council has announced £350,000 of funding to support the ambitions set out in the Suffolk Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy 2022 – 2025.

This fund has been provided by Suffolk County Council to support the work of the strategy in preventing violence, supporting victims, pursuing perpetrators and strengthening the system.

Organisations will be able to apply for this funding to support initiatives that are synonymous with the objectives of the strategy and aim to stop violence against women and girls.

This funding cements our continued commitment to protecting our communities. Whilst our focus for these projects is women and girls, due to the gendered nature of the crimes, we would also like to include projects to support men and boys as well as those that are transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming. This is a real opportunity to boost funding across Suffolk to harness creativity and innovation to help tackle this very important issue.

CLLR Bobby Bennett

Cabinet Member for Equality and Communities, Chair of the Safer, Stronger Communities Board

Suffolk has launched its 3-year strategy for Violence Against Women and Girls, in line with the Government’s plan to reduce and prevent this type of crime, improve collaboration between services and ensure perpetrators are brought to justice.

The strategy has been prepared collaboratively by the Safer Stronger Communities Board (SSCB) – consisting of representatives from Suffolk County Council, district and borough councils, Suffolk Constabulary, Suffolk’s Police & Crime Commissioner, community safety partnerships, health and probation services, the Norfolk & Suffolk Criminal Justice Board and Suffolk Safeguarding Partnership.

The SSCB have a shared commitment to tackle the incredibly important issue of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) which includes, but is not limited to, domestic abuse, sexual violence, stalking, coercive and controlling behaviour, and revenge porn – all of which have a devastating impact on victim-survivors, families, and communities.

The fund is to be launched in partnership with Suffolk Community Foundation.

Organisations can make an application for funding for up to £5,000 for pilot projects or up to £50,000 for projects which have already been piloted. These grants are available for up to 3 years.

Any questions can be directed to: [email protected] or call us on 01473 602602

We very much welcome this new initiative and the opportunity for us and the wider VCSE sector to work with Suffolk County Council and it’s partners to address this area of need. We look forward to seeing the impact of the additional services and support that this funding will enable.

Andrea Pittock

Head of Grants Programmes for Suffolk Community Foundation

Applications close 19th May 2022.

The Strategy is available to view online below: